Expansion of USN Gas Turbine Repair Into the Intermediate Level Repair Facility

Abstract

The USN gas turbine maintenance philosophy over the years has migrated from an “Upkeep by Exchange” philosophy to one that takes extensive advantage of engine modularity and the ability to repair it inplace to reduce life cycle support costs. This expansion of repair has taken place at the “Intermediate Level” of maintenance. It involves both internal engine repair aboard ship and module repair in the Intermediate Level maintenance facility. This takes maximum advantage of an aero gas turbine’s small, lightweight, internally accessible and modular design. This new direction in maintenance has been driven mainly by the extensive size of the surface Navy’s gas turbine fleet and its projected repair costs. The end result has been an increase in engine availability and a minimal escalation in removals and repair and support costs as the fleet continues to expand and age. What has been learned is that cost savings are achievable when operator level, Intermediate Level and depot level maintenance are molded together with engineering to form a unified maintenance approach vice treating each of these as separate and distinct, noncommunicative entities.